Luka Doncic, fueled by Phoenix Suns' trash talk, leads Dallas Mavericks to first elimination-game win of his career

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Luka Doncic drove straight down the lane and finished with a two-handed dunk for the second time in three possessions.

The top-seeded Phoenix Suns were trailing by 20 points midway through the third quarter of Thursday's Game 6 when they called a timeout. Doncic yelled in the direction of the Suns bench as he walked out to half court.

It was payback for Doncic, who had to listen to the Suns bark while blowing out the Mavs in Game 5. A series that has been quite chippy despite not featuring any close games will be decided on Sunday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Doncic said after his performance that he likes when people trash talk to him. It is fun.

This was the first time in Doncic's NBA career that the Mavs won a game while facing elimination. Despite losing to the LA Clippers in the previous two playoffs, Doncic has excelled in each of his opportunities, averaging 39 points, 9 rebound and 11 assists in three win-or-go- home games.

The highest scoring average in NBA history has to do with games in which the team is facing elimination.

Elimination is just another game for us on this journey, and our goal is to win a championship, according to Dallas coach Jason Kidd. He enjoys the moment. He is not afraid of the stage.

Doncic had better production than Booker and Paul. The Suns finished with a season low in points and a season high in turnovers, while shooting only 39.7% from the floor.

"We just kept applying pressure, and now we have to figure out how we're going to steal," said Mavs guard Jalen Brunson, who had 18 points and three steals.

Booker and Paul combined for eight turnovers. It was the first time in his career that Paul has recorded more turnovers than assists in a single playoff game.

Phoenix coach Monty Williams said he didn't think the desperation the Mavericks were going to play with was a factor in being dominated by a 29-6 margin in points off of turnovers.

Deandre Ayton, who led the Suns with 21 points and 11 rebounds, said that it was important for everyone to be on the same page. There were many mistakes. The amount of mistakes we made felt like a regular-season game. The turnovers were terrible. It was that type of game where it was not acceptable. They wanted it more.

After promising to attack the paint more after Game 5, Doncic imposed his will on the Suns. Fourteen of his 26 field goal attempts came in the paint.

He is a tough player. Reggie Bullock, the primary defender on Booker, said that he was a great player. They will bring him up in every pick-and-roll, but when he gets the switch, it will be a bucket every time. I don't know about the switches on defense that allow him to get a bucket. I know we are going to back him up. That is our teammate. He will hold us down on the offensive end and give us his best on the defensive end.

In his lone Game 7 in his career, Doncic posted a historical statistical line. He had a career-high 46 points and 14 assists against the Clippers, but the Mavs still lost.

Doncic said that he doesn't care about statistics as long as the team wins. The statistics don't matter to me, but if we win, it will be amazing. I think we won this game on the defensive end, and we have another game.

Booker will be playing his first Game 7. In Game 7s, Paul has played 3-4, including 2-2 on his team's home court.

Paul said they worked as hard as they could to get home court.

Been in it before. Have seen it. The best thing about the playoffs is that you don't carry a 20-point lead into the game. Each game has its own personality, and now it is down to one game, Game 7.

Dave McMenamin contributed to the report.